Understanding use : objects in museums of science and technology

• Main Authors: Boon, Tim, Haines, Elizabeth, Dubois, Arnaud, Staubermann, Klaus
• Format: eBook Book
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, D.C Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press 2024
• Series: Artefacts
• Subjects: archive; deconceptualizing museum visitors; history; Industrial museums; Library and information sciences / Museology; Museology and heritage studies; museum collections; Museum exhibits; museum objects; museum professionals; museum studies; museum visitor experience; philosophy of engineering and technology; Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects; Science > History > Sources; Science museums; Technology > History > Sources; technology musuems; textile technology; Tools > Collection and preservation
• ISBN: 9781944466732; 1944466738; 9781944466725; 194446672X

Understanding Use proposes a way of thinking and of developing practice around four varieties of use of objects in science and technology museums: first, the ways that machines, instruments, and equipment were used in their pre-museum “lives” (which provides the most frequent reason for their acquisition); second, the ways in which research can re-create usage history of obsolete objects; third, the ways that museum staff have employed objects in their “museum lives” as members of collections; and last, the possibility of reconceptualizing museum visitors as users of collections and displays. Thinking of museum objects in these ways—that is, in terms of use—could constitute a coherent approach to museum work that enriches the wider purpose of science and technology museums.